29.6.09

For anyone who thinks Norwegians are civic-minded and clean...

Beach bins. Nesoya

Honestly, this makes me mad. This is the sight that awaited us at the beach this morning; the detritus of Sunday sun worshipping.

What on earth makes people continue to dump their rubbish on and around bins well after they are very obviously full? Is it SO hard to take your refuse back to your car, from where it presumably originated, and take it home to dispose of it? Clearly, for some piggish types, it is.

True. Many Norwegians are lazy and won't be bothered with taking proper care of their own trash, at least not when they're not at home. Most folks are better at the whole thing when at home, but when at the beach etc. it's anarchy.

Jinjir - interesting point!Mel - perhaps this is a rich person's dirty habit? This beach is in one of the wealthiest areas in Norway.Anon - Norwegians do take very good care of their own gardens and properties which was perhaps why this mess surprised me so much.Jo - you're absolutely right. The local authority cleaners did come and clear away the mess but I still think it's appalling to expect them - however well paid - to do so.

I'm with you 100% on this post, Johanna---the beach trash situation is appalling. Here in Sandefjord there was a story in the paper a month ago about a little kid, two or three years old, who burned his feet REALLY badly stepping on one of those portable grills that someone had half-buried in the sand at the beach. The kid had to have skin grafts or something, the burns were so bad. What kind of arsehole leaves hot coals on the beach?? The hugely lazy kind, I guess...

Michele - that's a horrendous story. Maybe it's one of the reason the authorities have banned grilling on Kalvoya.RennyBA - at least things get cleaned up pretty fast around here which is a credit to some peopleBB - exactly! I expect (and often see) such litter in Ireland but was surprised to see such here.